Thermit ammunition



Dec. 19, 1950 M. E. BARKER 2,534,215

THERMIT AMMUNITION Filed Feb. 12, 1942 Patented Dec. 19, 1950 THERMIT AMLIUNITION r-MauriceaEi Barker,a-Washington, D. C.,--assignor to the United. States of Americaas represented bythe. Secretary of War ApplicationFebruary 12, 1942, Serial-N; 130, 809

9' Glaims.

amendd *April '30, 1928;370 '0. G. 757) (Granted under the act'of'March 3,"f1883,as

"The inventiondesciibed herein may bemanufactored and used: by or';for the Government for .i;g0vernmenta1 purposes, without thepayment' of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to incendiary munitions such as projectiles in the form of artillery shells, aerial bombs and siniilartypes of explosive shells equipped for scattering instrumentalities of conflagration.

A broad aim ,of .the present inventionis .to proirfide av device or this character that will efiec'tive- .ly expel ignitedjfiuid and scatter it,-together with Lignited, or. infiammablepllets in alldirections' to result in conflagrations giving off intense heat .and dispersed over a considerable radius.

.In its broadestaspectfthe invention consists in .,'the .provisionsoia .easingin which is retained an inflammable. fluid. and incendiary pellets suspended in the fluid. An explosive or bursting charge is confined-within the casing for fragmentizing the latter, igniting the fluid and pellets, and forcibly-expelling? and-diffusing the burning fluid and pellets. In turn the pellets, by reason "of the characteristic features thereof as contemplated by this invention, will,'during trajectory flight, explode-or tragmentize to scatter the burning-particles thereof over. .a .wide area. Thus the .device possesses a degreemf extendedaandefnfective destructiveness not reached by priorv available incendiaries.

The device is of simple and'safe construction, lendingi itself to mass'producition, and to use as :either an artillery. projectile-ran aerial bomb or shell, or to the firing thereof in situ.

The above and other features of the invention combining to present an incendiary munition capable of attaining the stated and apparent objects will be better understood and appreciated from a study of the following description made in connection with the acompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of an incendiary device, and illustrating an application of the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one form of pellet forming part of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 and. illustrating an alternate form of pellet.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, 5 indicates a casing which may be made of steel, iron or other suitable material. The shape of casing 5 will be determined by the manner of intended use of the finished device, or in other words, whether the finished article is to be used as an artillery projectile, an aerial bomb or shell, or is to be fired in'situ. *In the present/instance*the "casing is"illustrated as'beingof 'theusual slill configuration.

The casing 5 isdivid'edinto an "explosive=contaming chamber It and a'fluid and pellet-containing chamber T through theimedium of apartition 8. :In the present'instance the partition 8; which .is relativelylthinxand 'of'the same materialfpre- 'ferably, as casingffi, is'iIIu'strated as'being screw threadedly secured in position.

Confined Within chamb'er'it 'is' anexplosivejbr bursting charge" ,9 while confined withinch'amber 'Pellets H are suspended-in the' fluid as shown in Figure l.

The. explosive or bursting 'charge9 may be of any desired .material. or type. 'Also since" the means for detonating the'bursting 'chargemay be variedat will and as Zthemanner of using the device may dictate, no such. means is hereiri'illustrated or described. I

Infiammablel'fiuidliifl is preferably-an oil-which may be either a very lviscous liquid .or may.be

. solid, .the essentialicharacteris'tic of thesamebeing that it-be highlyirlflammabletolthe end Ithat the stated arid=desired objects of the invention-he Y. attained.

-- Essentiallyeachof the-severalpellets I I,=aslillustrated, embodies anvou-ter casingof combustible material; preferably nitrocellulose, and-Ja filling of incendiary composition, as for. example ofthe formof pellet therein shown is indicated-by the reference numeral iS andtheThermit filling by the reference character I4.

In Figure 3 the enveloping nitrocellulose casing of the alternate form of pellet therein illustrated s indicated by the numeral I I3 and forms an exterior sealing jacket for a shell or receptacle like member I5 of magnesium metal or material of a kind that burns with an intense heat. The Thermit filling H4 is encased in the member I5 which is open at one end as shown.

The pellets are of bullet-like shape and each has confined within one end thereof a wad I6 in the form of a disc and composed of black powder for setting fire to the highly inflammable filler I4 or H4 as the case may be. When, as illustrated in Figure 3, th member I5 or its equivalent is employed the wad I6 serves as a plug or closure for the open end of said member.

All of the pellets I I in chamber I may be of the form shown in Figure 2, or of the form shown in Figure 3, or the pellet-contents of the chamber may include both forms of pellets, as may be found most advantageous.

It will be seen that when casing 5 bursts under the action of its explosive charge 9, such explosion will likewise disrupt the partition disc 8, and the parts of the casing, the fluid. it and the pellets II will be thrown and scattered in all directions. Incidental to the explosion the fluid I0 is subjected to the heat from the explosive material and ignites. In turn the casings l3 and/or! I3, as the case may be, of the pellets l I are ignited and consequently during trajectory flight the combustible material or Thermit filling is set on fire. Hence in the case of the pellets of Figure 2 they are scattered over an extensive area as whole burning masses. In the case of the pellets of Figure 3 the powder I5 is subjected to the heat of the burning-envelope I I3 which in turn results in the ignition of the Thermit filling and the bursting of the magnesium shells l5 which burn in the presence of the oxygen of the air. As a consequence each pellet of the type just referred to is reduced to a multiplicity of particles that burn with an intense heat, setting fire to practically any object with which any one of such particles may come into contact.

Thus with this device a flaming mass of oil and Thermit is spread or dispersed over a considerable area, and the desired results will be obtained whether the munition be in the form of a .pro.

jectile fired from a gun, or in the form of an aerial bomb or shell to be dropped from 'an aeroplane, or in the form of an explosive fired in situ.

, It is believed that the foregoing sets forth the invention in such detail as will enable others to fully appreciate the advantages thereof and to adapt the munition to various applications within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims, the precise details of construction as herein set forth being by way of illustration incendiary instrumentalities, an explosive charge in the first chamber, and incendiary instrumentalities in the second chamber and inthe form' of dispersible combustible vfluid and pellets suspended in the fluid, said pellets embodying an inflammable casing and a filling of Thermite.

, 2. In an explosive shell, a dispersible charge of combustible fluid and a plurality of pellets in sus pension in the fluid; each of said pellets embodying an inflammable magnesium casing and a filling of incendiary composition.

3. In an explosive shell, a. dispersible charge of combustible fiuid and a plurality of pellets in suspension in the fluid; each of said pellets embodying a shell-like container of combustible material, an incendiary composition confined within said container, and a casing of inflammable material enveloping the container.

4. In an explosive shell, a dispersible charge of combustible fluid and a plurality of pellets, each of which embodies a casing and a filling including a charge of incendiary composition of the class of Thermit and a wad of combustible powder. 7

'5. In an explosive shell, a dispersible charge of combustible fluid and a plurality of pellets,

. each of which consists of a container formed of 7 a multiplicity of pellets suspended in an inflammable fluid; each of the pellets embodying an outer casing of nitrocellulose and a filling of incendiary composition.

7. A dispersible incendiary charge consisting of a plurality of pellets suspended in an inflammable fluid; each of the pellets embodying a shell1ike container of magnesium metal, 'a filling of incendiary composition in the container, and an enveloping outer casing of nitrocellulose material.

8. An incendiary pellet composed of an outer casing of nitrocellulose material, and a filling consisting of a charge of Thermit and a wad o black powder.

9. An incendiary pellet composed of an outer casing of nitrocellulose material, and a filling consisting of a charge of Thermit and a wad of black powder encased in a shell of magnesium metal.

MAURICE E. BARKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in'the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,329,443 Thomas Feb. 3, 1920 1,333,786 Thomas Mar. 16, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7 239,293 Germany Oct. 16, 1911 

